Nonstop flight route between Tau, American Samoa and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tau Airport (TAV), Tau, American Samoa and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,228 miles (or 11,633 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Tau Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Tau Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tau Airport (TAV):

• Tau Airport previously covered an area of 4 acres which contains one runway measuring 2,170 x 100 ft.
• The closest airport to Tau Airport (TAV) is Fitiuta Airport (FTI), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) E of TAV.
• The furthest airport from Tau Airport (TAV) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Tau Airport (meaning Tau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,331 miles (19,845 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Because of Tau Airport's relatively low elevation of 185 feet, planes can take off or land at Tau Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Tau Airport (TAV) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Tau Airport", other names for TAV include "none" and "HI36".
• Tau Airport is no longer active or in use since the development of Fitiuta Airport, located northeast of Tau Island.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• Physically, Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States and will expand significantly over the next decade to further encompass Active and Reserve Component activities of the Navy, Marines, Army, and mainline Air Force functions from installations closed by the Base Realignment and Closure process.
• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• During World War II Westover saw the training and formation of Airborne engineer aviation battalions to be used for rapidly establishing airfields in forward areas.
• Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The first organization at the base was the 10th Signal Platoon in June 1940.